ALL EPISODES

This week Just Asia begins with highlights from an exclusive interview with UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Professor Juan E. Mendez. Speaking to the editor of Torture Magazine, Nilantha Ilangamuwa, Mr. Mendez shares his views on various issues, including his most recent visit to Sri Lanka. […]

This week Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where three cases of honour killings have been reported from the country over the last 15 days, killing five women. Such acts are the result of a typical mindset that women must be killed for disobeying men, and besmirching their honour. The year 2015 saw more than 7,010 […]

This week’s episode covers World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on May 3. Journalists are at risk in many Asian countries, facing either threats to their lives or legal repression. According to Reporters without Borders’ 2016 World Press Freedom Index, the media freedom situation has worsened significantly or stagnated in the region. The majority of […]

This week, Just Asia continues its report on the prosecution of Indonesian activists for crimes against public authorities. Hundreds of labor activists have been demonstrating peacefully outside the court, calling for an end to their unfair trial and criminalization. For more details, Just Asia presents the speech of Michael, one labor activist, and a short […]

This week Just Asia begins with nine mothers cementing their feet in front of the Indonesian Presidential Palace on April 12. The mothers are calling on President Widodo to stop the development of a cement factory in Rembang, Central Java, which will damage a resource rich environment. Just Asia speaks to Mr. Ki Bagus Hadi […]

This episode of Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where a public protest called for the dissolution of Indonesia’s Anti-Terror Police Unit. The protest followed the death of Mr. Siyono, one day after being arrested by the Police Unit on March 10. Although the police claimed Siyono died from fighting police personnel, an independent autopsy revealed […]

This week Just Asia covers the deadly dispersal of protesting farmers in Kidapawan city, Philippines. Suffering from hunger and unable to plant their crops due to the El Nino drought, the farmers organized a protest blockading the main highway connecting North Cotabato and Davao City on March 29. On April 1, police and military personnel […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins in Pakistan, where Easter Sunday was marked with a suicide bomb blast killing 78 persons, mostly Christian women and children, and injuring more than 350 others, including Muslims. The blast occurred in a park, devastating families who had come to enjoy their holiday. A local organization with links […]

This week’s episode begins with Indonesia, where the trial of 26 human rights defenders began on March 21. The criminal charges against them are believed to be part of the government’s effort to end demands for labour welfare and for the cancellation of Government Regulation No. 78, which supports cheap labor in Indonesia. Just Asia […]

Just Asia is pleased to announce its new website www.alrc.asia/justasia. All episodes of the news programme can now be viewed there. This week, Burma’s Parliament elected Htin Kyaw as the country’s civilian President after decades of military government. Prevented from becoming president by a constitutional clause, Aung San Suu Kyi has said she will be “above […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia covers International Women’s Day, marked annually on March 8, to reflect on women’s struggles to achieve their rights. This year’s theme is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality”. Looking at women in Asia, Just Asia begins with Pakistan, where many cultural and religious practices pose […]

This week’s episode of Just Asia begins with the re-arrest of Indian activist Irom Sharmila, two days after being acquitted of attempted suicide charges. On hunger strike for the repeal of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act causing widespread abuses in Manipur, Sharmila has been arrested and released several times over the past 15 years. […]

This week AHRC TV’s Just Asia begins with Burma, where four protesters already sentenced by a court in May 2015, are now facing additional charges for the same incident. Burma’s first democratic election of November 2015 has done little to curb rights violations in the country. Next, the crisis at New Delhi’s Jawarhalal Nehru University […]

In this week’s episode, Just Asia covers the commemoration of the 1989 Talangsari Massacre in Indonesia. Although the Talangsari Massacre was mentioned by President Widodo as one of his government’s priorities, until now no concrete solution has been provided. Next, Just Asia looks at the unrest at India’s prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU). The unrest […]

In this episode, Just Asia continues to cover critical human rights flashpoints in Asia. In Pakistan, three employees of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) have been killed in clashes near the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, on February 3. The employees were on a countrywide protest against privatization of the national airlines. Around 30 persons have also been […]

In this episode of Just Asia, AHRC TV continues its coverage of the saga of the missing Hong Kong book publishers. One of the five abducted men, Gui Minhai, has turned up on Chinese State television making a “confession” for a years-old alleged drink driving offence. Gui vanished three months ago from holiday in Thailand […]

In this episode of Just Asia, AHRC TV reports from Sri Lanka where the police still appear to consider themselves above the law. Police officers in Embilipitiya killed a young man and authorities responded by simply re-locating the perpetrators to other stations rather than investigating the crime. Just Asia continues to report about the missing […]

In this first episode of Just Asia in 2016, AHRC TV covers stories of disappearances and shrinking spaces for the freedom of expression. However, first up, the programme reports on the conclusion of a rape case in Sri Lanka, more than 14 years after the case began being heard. Rita, unlike many other rape victims, […]

This is Just Asia’s final episode for 2015. It begins with a report from Sri Lanka and the long struggle for justice of a torture survivor. Rohitha Liyanage was after 10 years finally able to see the perpetrators tried and convicted for their crime. Two police officers tortured Rohitha so brutally that his leg was broken […]

This week, JUST ASIAhighlights activities conducted by AHRC and it’s partners in the region to mark Human Rights Day, December 10. In Sri Lanka, German Ambassador Dr.JurganMorgardspoke to survivors in Kandy, and in Nepal, AHRC’s Dr.RajatMitra conducteda workshop on Violence and Human Rights. Indonesian human rights defenders marked the Day by gathering in front of […]